Miankaleh Wetland in the northern Mazandaran province, is a biosphere reserve, which is known as a wildlife sanctuary and is of high environmental and national importance.

Ashuradeh is the name of an island on the Miankaleh peninsula.

The long and narrow peninsula is 48 kilometers long, and between 1.3 and 3.2 kilometers wide, which sets apart Gorgan Bay from the Caspian Sea. Four villages namely Ashuradeh, Qezel-e Shomali, Qezel-Mehdi, and Qavasatl are situated on the peninsula.

Major habitats include wetlands, inter-tidal mud with sandy shores, shallow marine waters, forests, peatlands, and agricultural areas.

It is home to many unique Caspian birds and reptile species native to this region. It's also a very important internationally-recognized refuge for migratory birds.

Fox, jackals, wild cats, pigs, wild horses, and other animals are among the island’s fauna. Aquatic creatures like salmon and starry sturgeon, as well as native and migratory birds like pheasant, white and black geese, flamingos, and pelicans, also call this environment home.

Raspberry bushes and bitter pomegranate trees are just a couple of the plants that make up Ashuradeh’s vegetation.

The peninsula's water deficits, additionally mismanagement, unsustainable agricultural practices, and severe depletion of the wells and groundwater resources have exacerbated the Miankaleh peninsula’s condition.

Local people earn their income from agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, carpet weaving, traditional poultry farming, and tourism.

Overgrazing, illegal hunting, fishing, deforestation, and the unplanned spread of villages are some of the challenges posing a threat to the region’s environment.

Restoration

The wetland which has been dealing with many environmental problems for years, is on the path of restoration.

In March 2022, President Ebrahim Raisi paid a visit to the international wetland on March 10, when ordered that the operational work required to rehabilitate and protect the Miankaleh wetland be given priority.

Head of the Department of Environment, Ali Salajeqeh, also called on the NGOs and local communities to join hands and restore the international wetland, saying that these are considered human potentials for the environment, and the restoration of the "Miankaleh Wetland" requires integrated management.

Last year, the country experienced the driest autumn in the last 50 years, but this condition was partially compensated by the winter rains and slightly improved the condition of water resources.

But due to the fact that Iran is located in an arid and semi-arid area with about one-third of the world's average rainfall, this rainfall has not compensated for the country's lack of water.

In Iran, the excessive increase of illegal wells has endangered the life of wetlands.

Statistics show that the number of unauthorized wells has increased from 15,000 to 400,000 in the last five decades, which has caused many of the country's plains and wetlands to dry up, IRNA reported.

Over the past few years, we have been continuously hearing unpleasant news about the country's water situation. Drought and low rainfall have caused many problems and exacerbated the situation.

All of them indicate that the condition of reservoirs and underground water resources is not favorable.

Ramsar wetlands

Wetlands are indispensable for the countless benefits or “ecosystem services” that they provide humanity, ranging from freshwater supply, food and building materials, and biodiversity, to flood control, groundwater recharge, and climate change mitigation.

Yet study after study demonstrates that wetland area and quality continue to decline in most regions of the world. As a result, the ecosystem services that wetlands provide to people are compromised.

Managing wetlands is a global challenge and the Convention presently counts 172 countries as Contracting Parties, which recognizes the value of having one international treaty dedicated to a single ecosystem.

The Ramsar Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands. This includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas, tidal flats, mangroves, and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans.

The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

It was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. Since then, almost 90% of UN member states, from all the world’s geographic regions, have acceded to becoming “Contracting Parties”.

In Iran, 141 wetlands with ecological value with an area of over 3 million hectares have been identified, of which 25 wetlands are designated as wetlands of international importance (registered in the Ramsar Convention) covering more than 1.4 million hectares and four sites are biosphere reserves.

The Department of Environment determined water rights for 11 wetlands out of 25 wetlands that are registered in the Ramsar Convention, but the conditions of the wetlands show that the water rights have not been fully met.

Due to insufficient rainfall and recent droughts, as well as non-implementation of some of the programs of the Department of Environment to protect wetlands, now about two million hectares out of the three million hectares area of the country's wetlands are dry and turned into sand and dust spots.

An official with the Department of Environment has said comprehensive management plans have been prepared for 44 wetlands in the country.

The unique characteristics of wetlands, including groundwater control, climate change adaptation, the livelihood of local communities through fishing, livestock grazing and agriculture, natural water purification, purification and absorption of pollutants, and nature tourism have made sustainable management and protection of wetlands essential for humans, ISNA quoted Jaleh Amini as saying.

Environmental management based on a comprehensive approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water, and livelihood resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in a balanced manner.

This approach is the primary framework for action under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The indigenous approach puts people and their type of exploitation of natural resources exactly at the center of decision-making.

World Wetlands Day

February 2nd marks World Wetlands Day. Wetlands cover around 6 percent of the Earth’s land surface and 40 percent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands.

They play an important role in coastal environments and economies, health, food supply, tourism, and jobs.

Wetlands are providing essential ecosystem services such as water regulation, including flood control and water purification.

More than a billion people across the world depend on wetlands for their livelihoods – that’s about one in eight people on Earth.

However, wetlands are among the ecosystems with the highest rates of decline, loss, and degradation.

Unfortunately, wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests and are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem. In just 50 years — since 1970 — 35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost.